MIRЯORS
by Lady Lemon Drop
Summary: Mirrors have always been passageways to other worlds… some are more terrifying than others… Dark, AU H/G
1. No Handlebars

_Prologue: No Handlebars_

'_I can keep rhythm with no metronome, no metronome, no metronome…and I can see your face on the telephone, on the telephone… Look at me, look at me. Just called to say that it's good to be – alive in such a small world, I'm all curled up with a book to read…'_

The gentle, yet explosive music blasted through the ground, vibrating through his feet, bleeding through his pores. He felt, more than heard the rhythmic thuds of his footfall across the wooden floor of the dilapidated manor.

The room was old, and covered in dust; no one had been up here in years, no one but him. He'd never really cared for the state of the room as it was. He only needed the one thing, the _'Speculum'_.He'd come at midnight, every night, and the other would just stand there, looking back at him.

He walked forward, his other mimicking. The rooms were identical, they were identical, they moved in perfect synchronisation… but he had hazel eyes…

He tilted his head to the right, and the faulty doppelganger did the same. He smirked, the other didn't. He deviated from usual fashion and placed his hand on the glass… he could see every contour, every little mark on his hand as it pushed into the reflective window.

His smirk turned into a grin, his emerald eyes twinkling merrily as the other mumbled something under his breath that fell deaf on his ears and stood back, walking from the room.

He was waiting, for that sign, the one that'd change his life forever. It'd hit him, one day. And that would be the day that he could indulge in the others wishes, his dreams, as fictional as they may seem.

There was a soft buzz in his back pocket. Without thinking about it, he turned the music down with a twist of his wrist. Pulling the phone from his pocket he flipped it open. "Hermione." His voice was indifferent, emotionless, but hers wasn't.

"Harry! H-Harry I…" she made a choking noise and stopped, there was a thud in the background. He could hear her breathing heavily, choking on thin air whilst she gasped for breath.

Harry frowned, dropping down to a crouch as he saw a little girl pop her head around the corner of the door in the mirror. He looked behind him, but no one was there. He forced a smile, waving at her, beckoning her forward.

Her electric blue eyes seemed to light up, apparently recognising him. She ran around the door, closer to him, the little tuft of hair that was her fringe pulled into a bobble at the top of her head was bobbing up and down as she skipped toward the mirror on the other side. She called someone's name, but it wasn't his - she could have only been three or four. She had red wellies on with white spots for Merlins sake.

She pressed both hands up against the mirror as the man had before her and smiled toothily, calling the same name out to him, waving. He waved back.

"Hermione?" he whispered into the speaker on the phone, his eyes on the little girl. "Alright? You sound a bit winded."

"Ye- yeah," she let out a small humourless laugh. "I'm just calling to… well I had only one chance to do this, and times running out so… You seen that 'sign' yet?"

He shook his head, realising seconds later that she couldn't see him. "No."

"Well I think I have. It hit me, so to speak, while I was on my way over to see you today."

"Oh?" The small girl pushed her little nose into the glass.

"Yes." She breathed. "I think you should go – now, don't think, just do it – I know you're there, all you have to do is –" she screamed so loudly that he gave a wince of surprise, and pain, dropping the phone.

The girl looked confused, her head tilted to the side. He ignored her, grabbing it back. "Hermione!"

She was breathing heavily again, her voice broke. "Harry, please, just go."

"What? No! It's supposed to be you and me, just the two of us. We'd be able to start over, Hermione, without this disgrace of a planet."

"I'll see you there."

"_No_, we'll go together, when the time is right –"

"The time is now, Harry!" she shouted. "There may no longer be a _you_ there, but there is a _me_, and two me's equals disaster, you know that… deep down we always did… I can't go, and I won't need to by the time this conversation's up."

"What? Why – Hermione…" he trailed off, his brow furrowed. There was a long silence on the other side of the phone, during which Harry slowly reached out to touch his fingers to the little girls' right hand on the mirror.

The man from before came running in, panic stricken, and snatched her up from the ground, cradling her to his chest. He was reprimanding her for wandering off… Harrys jaw set, his hand clenching together as he dropped his arm.

"Harry… I'm not going to be _alive_ to come with you… _please_." She pleaded, Harrys eyes connected with the other mans. "Please, once this conversation's over… there won't be anything left for you – I need you to go, and lead your life… like I said, I'll _see you there_…" she was crying.

He stood to his feet, one hand on the hilt of the sword sheathed at his right hip behind his back, the other clutching onto the phone tightly. "Where are you." He demanded, voice tight.

"I –" She let out a small cry of pain. There was a soft sob. "It doesn't matter anymore, just go."

"Hermione, please, I can find you – you know I can. One word and I'll be there in a second."

"Harry, I'm sorry, for everything…" her voice was barely a whisper. She sniffed. "I'm lucky to even have managed to hide long enough to make this call… they'll be there the moment I put the phone down… I don't have much time left, just… I –" She gave another short pause, taking in a deep, shaky breath. "I love you."

"I love you too." He blurted out, watching the expression on the mans face change. There was another blood curdling scream, and the line went dead. He stood completely still for just a moment, his mouth half open, frozen. He closed his eyes, snapping the phone shut at his ear.

His expression went hard, teeth clenching, glaring at the man on the other side of the mirror. Slowly lowering the phone from his ear, he threw it at the wall – it was no good to him now. Hermione's was the only number on it anyway…

There was a long list of people who'd died over the past seven years, and Hermione Granger was never supposed to be on it. They had been the only survivors out of all of them. Just two… out of hundreds. And they had a plan to get out of here, when everything was ready.

He'd lost everyone. His friends, his 'family'… Ginny. Not a single person in the Order remained, the Ministry of Magic, St. Mungos and Hogwarts stood in ruins, baron. Voldemort had well and truly won, and he'd admitted that feat months ago…

But he wasn't going to let Hermione's 'death' come to nothing.

He saluted the man in the mirror mockingly, still holding tightly to the child that wasn't his and turned swiftly on his heal. He began the count down.

_10_

He ran down the steps two at a time, completely skipping over the last five.

_9_

He grabbed a set of keys off of the windowsill outside his bedroom, where he'd left them.

_8_

More stairs – there was an explosion 2 floors down.

_7 _

Glass shattered around him, people were shouting, running, numerous feet thundering toward him.

_6_

He unplugged the iPod on the dock playing the music, and pulled headphones out of his pocket, running through the halls.

_5_

He ducked, and ran through a shortcut through the library as a kaleidoscope of colours barrelled down the hall.

_4_

The music was playing quietly in his right ear as he slipped it into his corresponding pocket, listening hard for where they were stationed. They never did learn the art of sneaking.

_3 _

He braced his left arm on the banister on the balcony above the atrium, leaping over and onto the broken and battered open floorboards below.

_2_

He turned, drawing the sword from behind him, an extension of his arm as he swiftly turned, skewering a nearby Death Eater into the wall. He grunted, pulling back and turning, jumping out of the closest window to the ground two stories down, more of Voldemorts men bursting in through every entrance to the atrium.

_1 _

He sheathed the sword, pulling out the keys while he ran to the parked motorbike ahead, knocking back the kickstand, and speeding off with a swerve of the back wheel as they shot numerous spells after him.

'_Look at me, look at me. Driving and I won't stop. And it feels so good to be alive and on top. My reach is global. My tower is secure. My cause is noble. My power is pure…'_

"Ten seconds…" he mumbled, shaking his head as he shifted up a gear, speeding up.

He had to know if she was still alive. For all he knew, she was still being held captive, being tortured, and he couldn't let her suffer. She'd lost as much as he, her husband - Ron, her parents, and of course they collectively lost their friends, allies, everyone they have ever known was gone. Things like that can do horrible things to a person.

The pain of it was what made Remus Lupin step out into open fire after he lost his wife, and unborn child due to a violent miscarriage brought on by an ungodly amount of Cruciatus Curses. She was late on in the pregnancy, and she'd gone into labour, the baby dead the moment the curse had been cast. In the end she bled to death, in agony.

Harry was only glad he hadn't been the one to find her as she was loosing consciousness – that had been Ginny. He'd held her the entire night as she silently sobbed. By that point she had already lost both her parents, Percy, Bill, Charlie, and the Twins. She and Ron were the only ones left.

He sped down the dirt track, dust shooting up in his wake, the roar of the engine and the sound of the music blasting in his ears the only things he could hear. But it wasn't enough to block out the unwelcome thoughts in his head.

He'd long since desensitised to the people around him. He had stopped showing how much it hurt, how much it killed him every time someone else was found dead. But it didn't mean he didn't care, despite what some had once thought.

He'd find Hermione and then he would leave; he'd go to their 'Plan B'._ They_ would go to their 'Plan B', _together._

Because she couldn't be dead.

Something dark was blocking the road ahead, standing in a silhouette in front of the large once green mountains and rolling hills either side of the road and up ahead.

'_Because I can guide a missile by a satellite, by a satellite, by a satellite. And I can hit a target through a telescope, through a telescope, through a telescope…'_

A tall man stood completely stationary against the eerie wind constantly blowing hard through the countryside, his billowing black robes curling around him, making him slightly more difficult to make out, even under the burning sun, and the red sky.

Harry gripped the handlebars tight, revving the engine and pushing it to the limit.

This was it.

'_And I can end the planet in a holocaust. In a holo_caust_, in a holo_caust_, in a holo_caust,_ in a holo_caust_. In a_ _holo_caust….!'

The back wheel of his motorbike skidded across the dirt plane at the rapid climb of speed. He pushed it further and further, galloping closer and closer until he was barely meters away when the bastard laughed and held a hand up ahead of him.

The front wheel burst off an invisible shield millimetres from the Dark Lords skin and he smashed through it, up in the air, arching through the air behind him. His bike hit the ground and slid violently across the road nearby before he smashed into the floor, the heated earth burning his bruised and battered skin.

He didn't move, barely breathing, his heart thudding in his chest as adrenaline coursed through his veins.

Voldemort bent over him, a revolting sneer winding across his face. "She screamed your name as I killed her." He hissed barely audible, but Harry caught it.

He flung one arm behind him from where he lay on his stomach, making for his sword, but it wasn't there, and opening his eyes to scan the ground ahead of him he found it lying on the soil off road.

There was a high pitched laugh, and a crack, and Harry knew it was too late.

Breathing heavily, he rolled onto his back, looking up to the vermillion sky. He was covered in cuts, dirt, and burns, which were a bad enough combination as it was, but he was pretty certain he'd broken a couple of ribs.

He laughed despite himself. He should be dead.

_Why wasn't he dead?_

A small part of his mind had hoped he would have. But this wasn't the time for thoughts like that. It was time to go. There was nothing left for him here…

'_And I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars, no handlebars… and I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars, no handlebars…' _

_

* * *

_

A/N:** This IS a Harry/Ginny fic**, Harry and Hermione love each other in a completely platonic way - just thought I should point that out since two people were confused on that detail =] The lyrics are weird, and I may go back and take them out later, but obviously you can ignore them if you really hate them =]

_**The other chapters wont have lyrics**__, its just because that's what he was listening to, and the song inspired me to write this (along with the movie Mirrors, and the Final Fantasy fan vid that went with the song). The songs called _No Handlebars by Flowbots. _This is kinda a sorry for killing most of my other storys (deleting them)… I've also posted a sort of prequel one-shot type thing called 'A Certain Shade of Green that's related to this. Chapter One will be posted next week, along with a new chapter for Blood and Chocolate and Jaffacake._

_Let me know what you think!_

_Jessica_


	2. A New World

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.

Quote: There's so many people dying, you complain about your situation. What about me? Half the world wouldn't know, what it's like to lose your seed. Maybe you can understand (How I feel) I cannot reach that soul. You're probably watching over us, Know that I think of you…

It's killing me…

Speculum – Adema

**

* * *

**

MIRЯORS

Chapter 1: A New World

He rolled onto his side in his sleep, one arm flung across the mattress of the hotel room in Northern London.

"_Harry?"_

"_Umm?" He was half asleep, barely listening, one arm stretched across the bed to stroke his fingers along the curve of her waist as they lay facing one another._

"_We're going to be okay, yeah?" She whispered. _

_He opened his eyes fully and saw hers shimmering through the darkened room. "Gin…" He mumbled, his hand pulling her closer to him, wrapping one arm around her waist as she dropped her head onto his chest. "Of course we are."_

"_You promise?"_

_  
"I promise."_

_She tilted her head back to kiss him gently, murmuring something against his lips. "I love you…"_

He awoke slowly, groggily, which was much worse, because for a moment he forgot that she wasn't actually there beside him. He dropped himself back against the bed, groaning to himself as he flung one arm across his eyes against the morning sun streaming in through the windows. Birds were chirping something unmimicable outside his window…

"_Fuck _off." He grunted in their vague direction, throwing back the blankets.

They didn't shut up. He clenched his fists briefly before grabbing his iPod and plugging it into the radio, turning the volume right up while storming into the bathroom.

Harry Potter never had been a morning person.

--

James Potter smacked his best friend upside the head as he sat down for dinner. Sirius Black scowled at him fiercely, demanding a reason for the sudden attack when Lily Potter flew at him about the letter he'd previously sent to his goddaughter.

_That'd explain it…_

The year was 2001 – November 5th to be exact. James and Lily's 16 year old daughter Effy was at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry with Sirius' 17 year old, Orion. His eldest, Roxanne Black was currently 19, engaged to James' eldest, Damien, also 19, and living with him in a flat in London.

It'd initially taken a lot of convincing, and Sirius still wasn't too keen on the idea. His wife Mary MacDonald-Black thought it was brilliant. Remus was laughing at him, even still. He only had the one kid, with his wife Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, Sirius' second cousin. He was four, and he was a metamorphmagus like his mum.

Teddy Lupin really enjoyed showing off the talent to his cousin Riley, of the same age, Sirius' youngest, and final (he hoped) child.

He rather envied James for having had only two kids within the four years they had, and having managed to keep it that way. It had come as a surprise when Lily had became pregnant with Damien. She hadn't been ready for another so soon after loosing Harry when he was one. No one brought him up anymore, unable to bare the look of utter despair Lily and James would share at the remembrance of their eldest.

But it didn't mean that he never thought of the kid. He really missed him, and couldn't stop imagining of what he might be like now if he'd lived. Mischievous, like James, or a goody-two-shoes like Lily. He still remained the only Potter to have inherited Lily's green eyes. Damien and Effy both had James' hazel eyes. Damien got the messy black hair and, while Effy's was bright red, it still had the thick unruliness of James', and the slight curl of her mothers – which made it slightly difficult to tame.

James himself was currently sitting picking at his chicken, his head cradled in one hand, eyes firmly set to the ground.

"Alright, mate?" asked Remus before Sirius could get there.

James sighed and dropped his fork. "He was there again last night."

"He's always there!" complained Sirius at the same time Lily threw her knife to the table. "I wish you wouldn't spend so much time looking at that enchanted mirror – so it shows you what you want to see – it consumes you, then we won't have you any more because you'll be so damned obsessed with that thing!"

James shook his head. "No, it was different this time. He was… well he was upset and he was on the phone, then he got angry and smashed it into the wall before running off. I stood and watched for a few minutes after, the house was burning to the ground, it collapsed – the mirror must have smashed or something because after that all I could see was myself…"

Remus frowned, also putting down his fork. "You have to admit that that sounds a bit odd, even for an enchanted mirror."

"Have you ever wondered where the other mirror is? I mean it's got to be like a- a -"

Lily slammed her fist onto the table. "No! It leads no where – there is no other mirror, stop being so idiotic!"

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I think he might be dead." Said James, pushing his plate away from him.

Lily seamed close to tears. "He already was dead, James."

He opened his mouth, closed it again then shook his head. "Sorry…" he took her hand across the table. "I just know that he was –"

"I know what you think James; I just don't necessarily believe you." She ripped her hand from his grip and stormed from the room.

--

Harry finished pulling the slightly loose tank over his head, pulling out his iPod and plugging in his headphones. He turned it up as far as it would go and took a deep breath, pushing open the front doors to the school.

Students were milling around like normal, everything looked just the way he remembered it… He stopped in the middle of the entrance hall and looked up at the chandelier with a small smile. He dropped his head forward with a smirk slowly spreading across his face. He took the next flight of stairs two at a time, quickly scaling the school. He needed to see Albus Dumbledore… If he was alive in this world.

Elizabeth 'Effy' Potter was used to all the attention. Secretly sure, it was flattering, and she liked to lead them on, it was fun, and ultimately ended quite horribly. She was a quiet person, hardly ever spoke, but when she did she always had a lot to say, and she got her opinion across clearly. Girls flocked to her, wanting to be around her, though why, exactly, she wasn't entirely sure. She never told them no, but never said yes either. If they wanted to hang around with her then fine, just so long as she wasn't expected to join in.

Boys wanted to be with her… in more ways than one. Her brothers weeded most out, and those that did get through tried way too hard.

So of course it was a surprise when Pippa (biggest gobshite known to man) stopped rambling mid-sentence with Panda, about the party they were planning in the woods later.

"…Just the 11 of us, it'll be fun I promise Panda, you don't have to worry –" She stopped to gawp down the hall with pretty much every one else in their class as a tall bloke with shaggy black hair and an effing sword came storming down the hallway.

He seemed about to walk past our awaiting cue to the classroom without a thought… until he spotted her. He frowned, pointing at her. "You, what's your name?"

"Effy." She said without hesitation.

He seemed to study her for a moment, up and down before pausing on her bright red hair for longer than necessary before fixing on her eyes. "Who's your father?" he asked tentatively.

She raised an eyebrow at him. What, did he live under a rock? "James Potter, head of the Auror Department at the Ministry for Magic."

He seemed to smile for a moment before he nodded at her. "Thank you." He said sincerely, walking on.

"Well… that was…" started Pippa.

"Completely mental." Finished Panda, smiling.

Vanity bit her bottom lip tilting her head to get a better look at him as he rounded the corner. "Fit though…"

Effy rolled her eyes, walking through the crowd of students to let herself into the classroom before the teacher arrived.

It was going to be a long day.

--

Harry pushed open the door to the headmasters' office, hoping against hope that the man he was looking for would be alive and well, sitting behind his desk ready and willing. Twinkling blue eyes and everything.

He wasn't disappointed. Sighing with relief quietly. "Good, you're okay."

The headmasters' head shot up, drawing his wand. "Who are you?" He said slowly, and calmly. "How did you manage to get all the way up here so quickly without alerting anyone's suspicions?"

He held his hands up above his head, a sign of surrender. "Orion James Evans. And I don't know, guess I was lucky." He looked directly at the headmaster. Eye contact was crucial; he'd be able to tell he wasn't lying…. Or at least think he wasn't lying. And if he was at all as lucky as he'd implied, then the man wouldn't be able to penetrate his mind.

He had to take the risk, gaining this mans trust was more important than anything.

Dumbledore didn't lower his wand. "Why are you here?"

He sighed. "I need your help." He said sincerely. "I know of, though admittedly not entirely sure if it still exists, the Order of the Phoenix. Please, please tell me that there is no need for it still to be running." He pleaded.

Dumbledore frowned. "I – how did you…"

Harry closed his eyes, dropping one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "He's still alive, isn't he? Voldemort."

Dumbledore lowered his wand slowly, brow furrowed in deep thought. "How could you not know that?"

He hesitated. "I've been away some where… very far away for a very long time. I reiterate. I _need_ your help."

"How can I know that your not on his side, give me a sign that you are trust worthy."

"Because if you trusted me once before, you can trust me again."

"Explain." He sat down in his seat, leaning back, ready for what he was sure to be the ramblings of a mad man.

Harry took a deep breath. "Your favourite jam is raspberry… though to be honest even that could be different here, then again I could have been all thorough and checked your jam preferences before hand…" he shook his head, putting his hands on the headmasters' desk. "It annoys you when people buy you books as presents, assuming because you are so full of wisdom you must find them interesting, what _wonders_ can one find in… 99 things to do with an elastic band…" he cleared his throat, having spoken the last sentence rather fast, not catching the small smile winding its way onto Dumbledore's face.

"But of course, then there's the much more difficult one, the painful one. Though I suppose if you want to fully believe me…" he leaned across the desk, lowering his voice. "You hate yourself for what happened that day so long ago with Arianna, because you're sure you could have prevented it, and it shouldn't have happened, and you wish that you could have suffered her pain for her, because she's your sister, and you _love _her, so much."

Dumbledore looked down at his fingers, contemplating. He shook his head slowly, a grim smile on his face. "Take a seat, Mr Evans."

Harry sat down, relaxing only slightly, feeling safe for once in the presence of his old Headmaster. "Why do you need my help?"

He hesitated. "I'm… Well I've come here under rather tedious circumstances. I wasn't supposed to be alone, my best friend, she..." he trailed off and shook his head, running both hands through his hair and leaning back in his seat. "She'd know what to do."

"And you don't?"

"No." he said softly, averting his eyes.

"Then why come to me, why do you think I can help?"

"Because you're you, Professor Dumbledore. And I know for a fact that you're the only person who'd understand, but I still can't… I've not been here, for a very long time, I literally don't know anything about anything. Voldemorts status, the state of the war." He laughed humourlessly. "Who's still alive."

Harry went quiet and Dumbledore took his chance to start asking questions. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Well, I'm Orion Evans… I was trained to fight under multiple amazing tutors, my godfather, his best friend, my headmaster, never mind the best of the best up at the Ministry for Magic where I'm from. I've been learning to fight since I was 15. And for those 6 years since I've done nothing but defend myself against one man in particular and he's still alive. I need him gone, so I can get on with my life. And you're the person to go to, to go about getting rid of him." he said slowly, and clearly, leaning forward and clasping his hands together, elbows on his knees and his head down.

"Voldemort? You're looking to join the order?"

"If you'll have me."

"How do I know I can trust you? You are a well armed young man, who has managed to pass though my wards and get up to my office without setting off any safety procedures and happens to know a small amount of private information about me. I've never met you before in my life, and yet you know about my sister, now why is that?"

Harry smiled. "Hogwarts knows when there's a threat, she'll rise up to protect her students. I'm not a threat. She knows that much. You can trust me because I'm telling you you can. It's your decision whether or not you believe me to be sincere. I can't persuade you to let me into your ranks in any other way than to offer you my full co-operation with anything you may need to do to deem me trust worthy."

Dumbledore surveyed him for a moment. "And what of Voldemort? How do I know you're not a spy sent by him for information, or to kill me?"

"Because Voldemort killed everyone I love. He killed my parents, my friends, my colleagues – anyone I held dear. Simply because he could. To be perfectly frank with you sir, I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire." The headmaster raised his eyebrows at him. "And if I was sent to kill you don't you think I'd have tried by now?"

"So say I did in fact allow you to join the Order of the Phoenix… you say you're willing to do anything I ask of you to certify your alliance to the Order?" Harry nodded. "Then… for now, it's a yes. You won't be allowed into Order meetings, I won't reveal our headquarters, not until I fully trust you."

"Of course."

"I will contact you soon, myself and a couple of trusted Order members will meet with you to explain the state of affairs, then you can leave with them to go on your first mission. You need to be tactical, and patient."

"Patient?" Harry asked, standing up to leave.

"It may take a while, with a lot of missions and liaising in between, before I can trust you enough to join properly." He smiled. "Good luck, Harry."

He opened the door and stood waiting for him to exit. But Harry didn't move. "How did you-"

"You have your mind closed off quite well, but a couple of things slipped through. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask why you changed your name, or who you really are, where your from… but keep in mind that if you want me to trust you at all, it may be a good idea to enlighten me at some point in the future." He waved Harry through the door. "I expect to see you soon."

Then the door was shutting behind him, leaving him standing stunned in the semi-darkness of the stairwell. Deciding not to linger on what exactly had 'slipped through' he made his way back out of the school. He needed to go to Diagon Ally, then the Ministry. Then he could worry.

_

* * *

_

A/N: How Harry came to be in this dimension will be explained soon, and why he went from fighting one Voldemort to another with also be explained soon =] Just gimmie a couple of chapters! I'm not very good with inventing names for people so try not to cringe when you read them. Panda's short for Pandora, and yes, I nicked Effy being short for Elizabeth from Skins =P Next chapter will have Harrys trip to Diagon Ally, and then the Ministry, and you get to see a few of his old friends remerging =D It'll be a lot longer than this one, promise.

_I'll update this time next week, if not earlier if I can. I actually skipped this chapter and wrote a few later ones, then some of Chapter 2 before realising I should probably get chapter one written and posted! _


	3. Innocence Lost

_Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter._

_Quote: At slow speed we all seem focused  
In motion we seem wrong  
In summer we can taste the rain _

I want you to be free  
Don't worry about me  
And just like the movies  
We play out our last scene

_Alien Ant Farm - Movies_

_**

* * *

**_

MIR

_**ᴙ**__**ORS**_

Chapter 2: Innocence Lost

James Potter stormed through the halls of Hogwarts castle, scowling profusely. He'd warned Siberius that if he had to come into this school _one_ more time for Sirius, he'd throttle him. The little shit had a thrill for getting into trouble.

Minerva McGonagall beamed at him as he passed. "Morning, James. On berating duty?"

He nodded grimly. "Unfortunately. When I find him, I'm going to kill him… you wouldn't happen to know what he did?"

"Kicked Mrs. Norris out of a second story window."

James pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course he did."

She gave a small smirk. "Good luck, James."

He hummed, half listening as he located his daughter, Elizabeth standing on a corridor corner, her arms folded and her skirt too` short for his liking. Her Drubles ever blowing bubblegum snapped at him as she turned to catch his gaze.

"Hey, Effy. You seen SJ anywhere?"

She walked over to hug him, her head resting on his chest for longer than he'd have thought she'd have allowed if her friends were around. She seemed to sag into him, her shoulders relaxing and her arms lazily circling his waist. "Hey, Daddy." She whispered, stepping back an inch. "I've missed you." She announced, awkwardly shifting her right foot so her knee bent inwards a bit, but her hazel eyes kept to his.

"I've missed you too, sweetheart." He slipped his hand into the hair at the back of her head, gently kissing her on the forehead. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," She breathed. "I-"

"Fuck off Gay-Jay; you know that's a lode of bollocks." 'Lips thick Northern brogue cut through her words from around the corner.

She immediately quietened, and averted her eyes to the spot where they were likely to appear at in the next few seconds. Siberius and 'Lip came around the corner, Ste in tow, running his fingers through his strawberry blonde hair, eyes on the ground as the two fought over what appeared to be a girl.

"Siberius."

The kids' eyes shot up in surprise, widening considerably. "Uncle James! What are you doing here?"

"Don't act all innocent, Seb - you know the drill, come on."

"You comin' Effy?" asked 'Lip, looking over his shoulder as he and Ste made they're way off the way James had came.

She held her head high, smirking. "Yeah, come on. Pandora'll have a heart attack if I leave her out in the forest for too long with that lot - you know what she's like."

She walked on a head of them, leading the way without a backwards glance.

James shook his head. There was something going on with that girl he didn't care to try and understand… he turned to Seb. "You!" he pointed. "Come with me. You're in a heap of trouble; you nearly killed that poor cat."

"Oh 'poor cat' my arse, that thing's evil and you know it!"

James didn't let his godson see the small smile forcing its way onto his face at the memories of what they used to do to the little thing. Of course it'd been a kitten then… "Oi, watch out, James!" Seb was suddenly pulling him out of the way and a man with bright green eyes was running past them.

Was that… eyes widening with surprise he turned quickly to look for the man who looked so much like the kid from the mirror, but by the time he'd turned there was no one there, just a long strip of hallway and an open door at the end. It was like he'd vanished into thin air…

"Are you just going to stand there all day, or can we get this over with?"

Turns out being a silent member of the Order of the Phoenix was more trouble than Harry had given it credit for. Having no idea who was alive in this world was hell, obviously his father was, and that, while brilliant was ultimately going to cause a lot of problems. James Potter could not see him, not ever. It would compromise the situation.

He'd gone to Diagon Alley to keep his mind off of it, Gringotts, then Madam Malkins for some new robes, and he'd had to order a bunch of new clothes, seeing as all of his belongings were stuck in the other universe. Luckily he'd had the bottomless pouch containing a direct link to his vault back home so he could get a goblin to transfer everything into a new account here.

He was walking past the Magical Menagerie when a small animal on the other side of the dividing walls caught his eye. Almost completely ginger in colour, but with white paws, and underbelly. It had tiger like darker orange, almost brown markings across the top of its head and down its back. Big, bright blue eyes and a tiny pink nose. He almost laughed at the sheer luck of the situation, walking into the shop itself to get a better look. It was just a kitten, it shouldn't have had such an effect on him, he knew, but all the same…

One of the memories he'd been trying and failing to repress since she died flew to the forefront of his mind and he was forced to remember that weird little ball of fluff that he'd bought for Ginny after they'd moved into their first flat. They were pretty much identical. She'd loved him to bits, named him, ever so thoughtfully 'jellybean' because she'd been eating some when he brought the little thing home. It opened its mouth marginally, showing small but undoubtedly sharp fangs and made the tiniest of whines.

Harry almost jumped out of his skin when the woman that owned the shop appeared behind him. "Can I help you with anything?"

Considering it for barely a second, wanting just one thing that reminded him of home, grounding him just a little bit, he nodded. "How old are these kittens?"

"Only 8 weeks." She smiled. "Which one are you after?"

Crouching down in front of the cage, he stuck the tip of his finger through the gap in the bars. The one he's spotted from the window stretched its neck forward to sniff it, ears back and eyes wide during its inspection. Smiling to himself, he nodded his head in the direction of the one now sitting waiting expectantly at the front, its fluffy chest pushed out self-importantly.

Without hesitation, she unlocked the cage and pulled it out by the scruff of its neck, flipping it over. "It's male, that alright?"

Nodding once, he allowed her to continue with the sale, all the while eyeing the tiny shorthaired thing sitting on the counter top obediently, wondering if he'd made a mistake. Maybe it would make it harder to move on? Shaking his head, he thanked the woman behind the desk and carried the kitten out in a carry case. Sighing with the prospect of having to find his new (or old, depending on the way you looked at it) flat sooner rather than later, he stopped to try and recalibrate.

Staying in a hotel had been nice, but he definitely needed his own space for planning and such. He'd checked out the moment he left this morning, hoping that no one would currently be staying in the flat he and Ginny had had in the next world over, assuming that it even existed, and that he could charm his way into moving in sooner rather than later. Making a mental list of everything that he was going to need to get his hands on, buying or otherwise he turned into an alley way he knew would take him to the streets of muggle London in half the time it would have done the conventional way.

He was fine for the majority of the way through, that was until he came across a hooded man walking in the opposite direction. Not registering him as a threat, they past one another just fine, until the hooded man looked up and saw exactly who he was passing. Or rather, who he thought he was passing.

"Potter!" He grabbed Harry's wrist.

Already on alert, he managed to twist his wrist and grab the man's arm, dropping his bags, and the kitten to the floor, moving his now free hand around to snap it cleanly. As he cried out in alarm, Harry pulled back his sleeve, finding the Dark Mark, bold as the night, wriggling on his forearm. The man fell to his knees, knocking his hood back with the sudden movement.

"Colin!" he called out in surprise. "Colin Creevy?" he dropped the man's arm as if he'd been burned.

Sure enough, 20 year old Colin Creevy nodded. "What of it?" he pulled himself to his feet, gasping in pain as he knocked his broken wrist. He looked up at Harry expectantly. Then his eyes too became wide with shock. "You're not James Potter!"

"No…I'm not." Colin had died fighting for the light, only 18 years old, the night Hogwarts had fallen. He had always been so innocent – how could he be a Death Eater here? The idea was preposterous. "What happened to you?" he asked sadly.

Colin looked taken aback. "Well you broke my wrist, that's what happened to me."

"Sorry." He said in a split second, without hesitation.

Again, he looked surprised. "Why aren't you calling for help, raising the alarm? I mean, your obviously capable enough, why aren't you attacking me? I'm a Death Eater. Unless your one of us… though to be honest, I'm sure the Dark Lord would kill anyone who looked even remotely like James Potter, with the history they have…" He went quiet, wand still slightly raised in his other hand.

He shook his head. "Never you mind." Raising his own wand, he flicked his wrist, watching as Colin recoiled, winced, then squeezed his hand into a fist after Harry had magically clicked it back into place.

"Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter. Just run."

"But-"

"Someone's coming, I suggest you run."

Colin looked behind the stranger to see a familiar man walking down the street towards them. Deciding that he valued his life, he ran in the opposite direction. And Harry watched him go. Still in shock over the revelation that his friend was among the Death Eaters ranks. "Mate, oi, James! Was that Colin Creevy? Why the hell did you let him go? James-!"

Harry found himself face to face once again with a deceased friend. This time in the form of Sirius Black. It physically hurt to look at the alternate version of his godfather. Even though it wasn't really him. How could it be? He looked so young. His grey eyes had that spark of silver in them that he'd seen so often in those photos of him before Azkaban. His godfather was a shell of a man, broken and shattered, beyond repair, having lost everything. But this man standing before him was _the_ Sirius Black. Prankster, Auror… James Potters best friend.

Sirius frowned. "You're not James… but you look so much like him…" he ran his fingers through his hair, craning his neck to try and get a look at where Colin had gone. "Damn! Even still, why the hell would you let him leave? He's wanted across the country!"

Harry shot out of his revere. "What? Why?"

Sirius looked at him like he was stupid. "What do you mean, why? He killed one of his classmates during a Hogsmede trip under the orders of Voldemort. And he's done worse since!"

"Oh…" Colin couldn't kill anyone, could he? He wasn't capable of it.

"'Oh'," He nodded. "Of course." He grabbed Harrys arm at the elbow. "I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Why?" But he was already being dragged into an alley, and he couldn't bring himself to resist his godfather.

Harry found himself thrown into a chair in a dimly lit room deep under the main building of the ministry.

"Sirius, I still don't understand why you brought him here. You can't question someone without the proper grounds to enforce-"

"Just look at him! He was just attacked by someone who mistook him for James Potter. The guy was Colin Creevy. Anyone who sees him would raise the alarm unless they were involved with the Death Eaters. Even if it was just a misunderstanding, he's impersonating an Auror."

There was a long sigh. "Fine. But if you don't get conclusive proof that he's consorting with Death Eaters or anything otherwise within the next 20 minutes, you have to let him go."

The door closed behind him and Sirius Black walked to stand behind the chair opposite Harry. He just stood there and watched, motionless, staring. Harry rolled his eyes. "I've gone along with thus so far, if only because I needed to go to the Ministry anyway, I mean, don't get me wrong – I'm quite happy to sit here and baffle you. But I have things to do."

He was so completely knocked off guard by the fact that his late godfather was standing opposite him, alive and well, that he didn't even think twice about the fact that he had god knows what left back in that alleyway in London.

He cleared his throat. "You look almost exactly like James Potter. The Auror, don't pretend like you don't know who he is."

"Head of the Auror Department, right?"

"Known for being the person in charge of bringing down as many Death Eaters as possible. He's been tracking down Voldemort for years, and he's heavily wanted by the Dark Lord and his followers. It's not the first time someone's been caught impersonating him." He frowned. "What I don't understand, is why you would be mistaken for James by a Death Eater – if you were impersonating him, badly, I might add, he has hazel eyes by the way, it obviously has nothing to do with Voldemort. Who are you?"

"Orion Evans." He said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "Do you actually have a reason to keep me here? Because if you don't hurry up and get to the point in the next 30 seconds, I'm off."

Sirius ignored him. "How do you know Colin Creevy?"

"We go way back, I used to know him when he was a kid… I didn't know he was a Death Eater until today."

Sirius sat down in the chair and leant across the table to him. "He killed one of his classmates when he was 17. He was after James' daughter under Voldemorts orders and it went wrong, ended up killing one of his mates. You can't live in Britain and NOT know about that, it was everywhere."

Harry closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why does it have to be _bad_ different." He said to himself. Before Sirius could ask, he shook his head and opened his eyes. "I've been in Bolivia for the past 9 years. I can't remember much from when I was growing up here. But I knew him – and he was a good kid!" Harry shot to his feet and wandered across the room. "What do you want? I haven't got time for this."

"I'll decide what you have and haven't got time for, Evans. What have you done to make yourself look like James Potter?" he demanded.

"Nothing!" He said, louder than he'd intended. "This is me – what I look like, my skin, my face." He pinched his own cheek. "I don't even know who the hell 'James Potter' is. I've never seen the bloke in my life!"

Sirius stood up and cast a few consistent revealing spells, getting annoyed when nothing happened. "This is really you?"

"Yes! I ran in to Creevy, broke his wrist, found out he was a Death Eater then fixed his wrist and told him to run from you because he was my friend once, and I still believe that there's good in him!" Harry spat vehemently. "Now where the hell's that ginger thing?"

Sirius went from furious that he was being yelled at by a delinquent, to confused as to what the hell he was on about. "Ginger… you mean that kitten you had with you?"

"Yes. He's not mine, he's for..." Ginny. The realisation that he'd bought a cat for his dead girlfriend was enough to make him laugh. He shook his head. "Where is he? It's almost five, and I need to go see a man about an apartment. You have no grounds to keep me here. I didn't know he was wanted; I'm not impersonating an Auror. Let me go, before I call Dumbledore."

"Albus Dumbledore? Why would you-"Clarity slowly spread across the older mans confused face. "You're Orion Evans, the new Order member that Dumbledore recruited yesterday." He said, as if everything was all suddenly making sense. "I'm sorry, mate. He did say you looked a bit like…" He took a deep breath. "You know he gave me orders last night to come and find you to recruit you for the Auror Department, if it's something you're interested in. He said you looked like the type who'd get a thrill out of it. I can put you into the training programme if you-"

"I don't need the training programme. Even if I did want to be an Auror, you'd do best to let me skip Auror Academy. It's a waste of time." Harry turned and placed his hand over the locked door, letting his magic seep through his fingertips to unlock the magically bonded door, letting himself out.

"Hey! You can't do that!"

Harry gave him a condescending look. "So stop me." Storming down the halls of the lowest levels of the Ministry, he found his way to the elevator, tapping the button for the Atrium.

Sirius shot in after him. "I- will you at least consider it? There are Order members laced directly through the seams of the Ministry. If you were to do this, he'd trust you a whole lot faster. He wanted me to put you through the Academy, then you could train alongside me. Even if you didn't need to go to the Academy, it's the law to start off as a Trainee."

Harry hesitated. Joining the Aurors would slow him down, but if it'd help Dumbledore trust him faster… "I've already been through the Academy, back in Bolivia. I'd give you the papers, but my house got burned to the ground." He said blankly. "And I'm not signing anything. You want me here, you do it, I need to sort out my apartment. Where's my stuff?"

Sirius walked toward a group of Aurors standing around the reception desk, laughing and cooing at something. A woman Harry immediately noticed as Tonks was sat up on the desk itself, tormenting the little ginger tomcat sitting beside her. Just the sight of her alone made him smile. "Leave the poor thing alone, Nymphadora, it's only a kitten."

Upon recognising him it whined again, unable to meow properly yet. He folded his arms. "Well you're not much of a tomcat are you? Why didn't you fight back?" he said, as if he fully expected it to reply. It whined again. He shook his head. "Jellybean may actually fit this time around." He said, picking it up and putting him back in his carrying case.

A man to his right snorted. "Jellybean? Really?"

Turning to the source of the noise, he found Remus Lupin standing in his Auror uniform beside Tonks. The laws must be different here too… the smile on his face widened into a full blown grin. "My girlfriend named him."

Grabbing his bags, he walked away without another word, only to have Sirius call after him. "Oi! I want to see you here first thing tomorrow morning! You need to pass basic training before we can even accept you onto the force!"

"Yeah, whatever."

He could hear Tonks laughing behind him as he made his way to the Apparation point. "I am so going to enjoy you trying to tame that."

And he was going to enjoy annoying the hell out of Sirius. Though, in all fairness, he was just happy to get to spend some time with his godfather. Maybe Voldemort could wait… for now. Just until he got his bearings, sorted out the Order…

He turned, arriving outside the front door of an office of some sort. Seemed about right. Without knocking, he entered to a portly looking man sat reading a muggle paper. At least some things were the same. Ginny never had got along with their landlord. "I need to rent out number 19." He said, drawing his wand behind his back.

The man dropped his paper to the table, face almost going purple at the sheer rudeness of Harry's actions. "As soon as possible."

"Well young man, I'm afraid that there's more to it than that! There are complicated procedures to go through before we can even consider-"

He flicked his wand behind his back marginally, casting a mild confundus charm. "Tonight alright? I can pay you for the next year in advance first thing."

The man's eyes glazed over slightly as the spell hit, and then diminished, making him think that they'd already gone through all the paperwork. "Yes! I'll show you the way…" he seemed rather exited at the prospect of that much money all at once. Declining the offer to be shown around, Harry made his way into his new-old apartment.

It was exactly the same as it had been when he and Ginny had first rented it, minus all the touches Ginny had brought to it over time. None of their furniture or photographs yet in place… Dropping the bags full of shrunken down clothes, books, potions ingredients, and oddly, maps, onto the sofa, he let the kitten out of the carrier basket and walked over to the large glass windows overlooking London City.

Living here without Ginny was going to be weird, that was for sure.

There was a distinct meow from the other room, and, in seeing that little Jellybean was currently circling his feet; he had to wonder if this apartment was really as unoccupied as he thought. Walking cautiously into the bedroom, wand drawn and at the ready, he was beyond surprised to find a large, fluffy ginger cat with a squashed face sitting up in front of the pillows adorning the double bed. That grin that he'd been unable to keep off of his face when he found Tonks and Remus alive was back again.

"Oh, Crookshanks, you cleaver, _cleaver_ cat!"

_A/N: Yeah… I kept giggling while writing this chapter over the notion that Harry has a cat. See my mind made him into a cat lady… which I found quite funny… but, yeah! New chapter, sorry for the delay, I got distracted. But I hope you like the new additions to the plot, and love ikkle Jellybean as much as I do =D Sorry for any mistakes, I don't have a beta, and I'm going out in like five seconds so I have no time to check myself, because I'm not coming back home 'til Monday, and I'm assuming you want this now? Uhuh, thought so…_

_**Next Chapter**__: Crookshanks – explained. Harrys Auror tests. Tonks' teasing. Remus' suspicions. Some more of Harrys friends show up, Dean Thomas is one of them, just saying. Harry also goes out on his first mission for Dumbledore, and you get to see where Order of the Phoenix HQ ;) Oh, and fighting and bloodshed, you can't forget that bit. _


End file.
